Welcome to the class blog of Ben Villarreal's Freshman English 12 Course: Visual and Verbal Literacies! Here you'll find the thoughts, ideas, and burgeoning written work from our class about the multiple literacies we experience.

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20 May 2014

Aliyah's Selfie Guide

I copied and pasted this directly from my personal blog so yeah.

So while in my English class the discussion was about online identities. Blah blah through that we came to the topic of selfies. I was explaining to the class the different types of selfies and the factors of selfie-taking and my professor thought I should make a blog on how to take selfies because, to me, it's more than just taking a photo of yourself. So, that's what I'm going to do.

First and foremost, what is a selfie? Most people think a selfie is just a photo of yourself. NO. A selfieis a photo OF you taken BY you! Taking selfies is an art.

For example, the photo below isn't a selfie because I didn't take it.

Now I will tell you how to take the perfect selfie. There are different types of selfies and there are 2 key factors to taking selfies, which are:

1. Lighting- lighting is almost the most important factor of taking the perfect selfie. When you walk into a (bath)room with the perfect lighting, you have to take a selfie.

2. Angles- angles are just as important as lighting. If you don't have a good angle, your entire selfie is ruined and you should put your phone down and proceed with your selfie-less day. Most important thing with angles is to have your chin up because you don't want to look neck-less.

Now, I will go on to the type of selfies and how to take them and make them perfect.

MIRROR SELFIE

Mirror selfies are pictures you take of yourself in a mirror. Here is when angles and lighting are very important. In a mirror selfie, your phone should NEVER cover your face because then it isn't a selfie and it's just wrong. A mirror selfie should have your face and at least half of your upper body, unless it's an outfit selfie, which is a different type I will get to next. Here is a comparison of the wrong and right way to take a mirror selfie:

Outfit selfie:

Outfit selfies are actually my favorite, mainly because I'm into fashion. An outfit selfie is almost the hardest type of selfie to take. Here's why. An outfit selfie should NOT have your face in it. An outfit selfie should only include your midsection, the very beginning of your lower body and lips (if you're a female and have on lipstick that is a finishing touch on your outfit) and MUST BE a front view. That is almost the hardest thing to do and it may take a few photos to get the right one. You can also take a mirror outfit selfie, but I don't recommend it unless you absolutely have to. Here's some photos of my outfit selfies (I'm a pro so I have no pics of the wrong way to take this type of selfie):

Shoe/Leg selfie

Depending on your gender and what you're wearing will determine whether you take a shoe selfie or a leg selfie, or both selfie. A shoe selfie should only include your shoes and the lower half of your legs. And a leg selfie should include much of your legs as possible. There's no real wrong way to take a shoe/leg selfie. It's all about the way you pose. This is also a form of outfit selfie. Here's some examples of shoe/leg selfies (most of mine are combos because, 1. I have really long legs and 2. I just like them):

US-ies

An "US-ie" is a selfie including another person. There's really no wrong way to take these either, just know what angles work for you and the person. Here are some photos of that:

SEFLIE

Last, but certainly not least, is the original selfie, just you. This is where you must know your angles and lighting. You have to make the right face, everything matters. This is JUST YOUR FACE and can include some of your upper upperbody, that's inevitable. To take a correct selfie, you have to extend your arm as much as you can. Best time to take a selfie is when the sun's natural light is beaming on you. Here are my favorite selfies, with perfect lighting & angles:

ANDDDD that sums up my selfie guide! Enjoy.

Disclaimer: selfies may take up most of your phone space and leave your camera roll looking like: